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Chapter 4 – Opportunities for Building Resilience of African Farming Systems

Key Messages

1
Continued reliance on area expansion and encroaching onto forest land and marginal lands as the main strategies for agricultural growth in Africa is neither environmentally nor socially sustainable
2
Building African farming systems’ resilience to shocks and stressors for sustainable food and nutrition security and economic growth and transformation requires shifting from extensification to intensification. This should be driven by integrated management practices on farms.
3
Components for building resilience and sustainability into Africa’s agricultural production systems include: efficient use of nutrients and water; improved soil health; use of high-yielding, climate stress-tolerant seeds adapted to local climate change; crop diversification; and investments in risk mitigation and management strategies.
4

Practical actions for African governments, development partners, and other stakeholders to build resilience and sustainability into Africa’s agricultural production systems include:

  • provide incentives for farmers to increase adoption of management practices that increase
    soil nutrient and water use efficiency;
  • provide incentives that boost farmer demand for inorganic fertilizers and increase
    availability and uptake of organic inputs;
  • create conducive policy and regulatory environments for fertilizer businesses;
  • support fertilizer trade financing via credit guarantees and supplier credit;
  • increase funding to agricultural R&D&E;
  • create incentives for and invest in irrigation; and
  • prioritize policy actions that enhance synergies and avoid policy collisions.